ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team had so much fun scoring early in the first half of its 1-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Saint John's last Saturday, the Cardinals decided to try that same tactic again against Bethel.
Only this time, one goal would not be enough to secure a Cardinal victory.
Which isn't a problem when you've got
Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and
Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) in your arsenal.
Deadlocked at 1-1 late in the second half, Saint Mary's erupted for back-to-back goals—the first by Sobczak and the second by Lichttenegger ()—in a span of 43 seconds to lift the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over Bethel at Ona Orth Athletic Complex.
"It was a great team win for Saint Mary's," said Saint Mary's coach
Pete Watkins. "I was really pleased with how they came and responded after conceding the equalizer.
"Rob Sobszak and
Kyle Lichttenegger really made the most of their moments in the game," Watkins added. "Coach Bowers gave the guys a great scouting report and it really paid off. "
James Larson (Polson, Mont.), who scored the lone goal in the Cardinals' win over Saint John's in the game's fifth minute, set up Saint Mary's opening goal this time around, feeding a pass to
Garrett Grunke (), who beat BU goalkeeper Jakob Barthels just seven minutes in.
The Cardinals would maintain that one-goal edge through the remainder of the opening half, but BU netted the equalizer just three minutes into the second half, as Danny Jaderholm beat Cardinal goalkeeper
Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.) in the game's 48
th minute.
Enter Saint Mary's dynamic duo of Sobczak and Lichttenegger.
Sobczak scored his first collegiate goal in the 75
th minute to put the Cardinals back on top, and Lichttenegger added his first in a Cardinal uniform seconds later to give Saint Mary's some much-needed breathing room.
Levy finished with three saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Barthels stopped four of the seven Saint Mary's shots he faced.
The Cardinals (2-1-0 MIAC, 5-3-0 overall) return to action on Tuesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. conference showdown with Gustavus.